Gap widening between MAC, power conferences

7:49 PM,
Jan. 30, 2014

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, left, shakes hands with Ohio coach Frank Solich, after the Buckeyes won 43-7 in 2010 at Columbus. Solich is one of the few name hires MAC schools can afford with the escalating salaries of coaches.

Written by

Ryan Autullo
The Toledo Blade

The latest wave of football coaches to crash the Mid-American Conference consists of a man gone mad.

That's how Miami's Chuck Martin views his decision to take a $200,000 pay cut to be a head coach in major college football.

Martin - who served the past three seasons as Notre Dame's offensive coordinator - wore golden handcuffs at the Golden Dome, aware he someday might have to accept lesser pay in order to run his own program. ...